Basketball player Sneha Shrestha used to play volleyball during her school days. She was later drawn to playing basketball after she saw her seniors in the game.

Twenty three-year-old Sneha first started playing basketball when she was in grade four. She says volleyball never managed to allure her like basketball did.

It was only when she joined Prime College for her bachelors, she started playing for national-level competitions. Sneha has participated in several tournaments and represented Nepal in international games as well.

She has been participating in national games since 2010 and has never lost a single match. She won a silver medal during the South Asian Basketball competition, which she considers her best achievement so far.

Sneha had always seen basketball as a hobby until she represented Nepal during the Asian Beach Basketball Competition during 2011-12 held in China. She also recently won the senior level Bishal Milan Kendra tournament.

“Basketball has helped me reach this far, I feel I should do something for the field to repay,” says Sneha.

She also shared some memorable moments during the tournaments. “Once during a national game, we were short of players. There were only seven of us. We were nervous and on the verge of losing the game. But, in the end we won. Our coach was proud of us and it felt like we had achieved something really big,” she says.

Sneha says Rajiv Joshi, national basketball player who also happens to be her brother, is her role model. He had helped her grow in the basketball field, guiding her thoroughly, which is one of the very reasons he is her role model, says Sneha.

Sneha, however, does not see a future for basketball players in Nepal. She is willing to take basketball side by side with her other future plans.

She adds that she wants to play and win an international game against Sri Lanka as they had been defeated previously by the Sri Lankan basketball team during the South Asian games.    

“Take one step at a time and appreciate all your small steps because success doesn’t come as soon as you start something. Everything takes time. Don’t give up just because the beginning is hard. The end result will definitely be in your favour,” Sneha adds.